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Sicily in Six Days?

I am very interested in visiting Sicily but it doesn't look like I will be able to get away from work for any good chunk of time. If I had six full days on the island, would that be enough time to get a good taste of things? I am not a beach person and I am considering late-March or early October (this year). I like the usual stuff: architecture, history--ancient and modern, art, natural beauty, food, wine. Never met a museum I didn't like.

Would I spend too much time driving if I flew into Palermo and out of Catania?

Sorry for the vagueness. This plan is just beginning to take shape, but I am not sure it is at all realistic. I've had to put off a couple of trips already due to work, and I'm getting kinda crazy.

With only 6 days I would cut the island in half---the question is which half.
I would opt for the northern half---Palermo, Cefalu, Taormina, and fly back from Catania.
Here are some pics you may enjoy.

You might want to take a look at my trip report. Just click on my name to find it. Originally we intended to spend more time in Sicily, but our time was cut short by the Icelandic volcano. Then we lost another day at the end of the trip because of a physical injury. I think that our total travel time was about 8 days. Cut out some of what we saw and you can get a quick view of Sicily, especially if you get a one-way rental. For example, one could easily leave Palermo as we did, see Monreale and then go visit Segesta and end the day near Selinunte which would be seen the next day. We spent two nights in Piazza Armerina, but that was because of circumstances that had little to do with sightseeing. So while rushed, the major sites can be seen in the time you specify.

I would agree with Bob in that a one way journey Palermo to Catania would leave you in the car for possibly too many hours in the day. The road network it good and the traffic outside the usual rush hours doesn't disrupt travel.

In a week during October, 2009 we covered the East coast from Taormina to Modica. I have to say that out of our 200 plus foreign trips this was by far our worst. We are planning to give the island another go under different circumstances and with more planning.

We were based in Siracusa, which for me has to be one of the greatest small cities in Europe. It has been well restored over the years and there are many good small hotels/restuarants. We stayed at Hotel Il Parco which was similar to an English Country house hotel which beautiful gardens.

The main downsides to our trip were the weather (rained most of the time), the driving which was dangerous most of the time and the Sicilians disregard for the beautiful countryside they occupy. Towns like Modica, Ragusa and Noto have been very well preserved and are well worth visiting. There are world class food shops in each.

However, much of the new development on the east side of the island was fairly uncontrolled and showed the extent to which organised crime have control the development process.

We really didn't enjoy Taormina which even in October was totally swamped by tour bus/cruise parties and standard/tatty touristy shops.

In summary, I would definitely base yourself in one "corner" of the island as as a alternative to Bob's suggestion you could consider Siracusa/Noto/Ragusa/Modica.

The issue of what to see in what amount of time is highly personal. I can travel with one night stays when necessary, and if I had only 6 days, that is what I would do.

If, for example, the average visit at the Grand Canyon is 2 hours (according to a ranger), then a half day visit might very well be satisfying even to the person who does not wish to be rushed in and out of a site.

I would not miss the Greek sites or Villa Casale if I were in Sicily, although I would not have known this before seeing them.

As Michael said it is all down to personal choice. The road system is integrated with mostly dual carriageways. Had you suggested this in say Sardinia I would have had reservations but Sicily is very doable in six days.

In our travels through Sicily we did see trains, so I suspect that it is possible to travel by train, although I do not recall seeing trains or tracks along the southern coast. I am not sure that sites like Segesta would be readily accessible with public transportation. There is also a train that goes around Mt. Etna.

Palermo (3 nights) Cabbed to Monreale**, Bussed to Mondella (the beach), Agrigento. Beautiful churches in Palermo, 4 Corners and more.
Bussed to Siracusa (took 3 hours and 15 minutes-get help buying tickets)
Siracusa (2 nights) No day trips. Walked all over. Museum of paper interesting. Archeological museum a yawn but that was just us. Nice amphitheatre and Ortygia interesting.

We couldn't make bus schedules work to see the wonderful mosaics at a place I'm drawing a blank about. Will get back to you or other posters will fill in.

Other posters will also suggest Catania as a don't miss but it's your interests that count. **Astounding church IMO. Yes, get a book and figure it out. It will be tight but do-able. You might prefer Catania to Siracusa?

Great suggestions. I have been looking at drive times on Michelin; I know for me I need to add at least 30 minutes because I am a genius at getting lost. However, it seems I could stay a few nights in Palermo and then head east for a few nights before flying out of Catania without feeling too rushed.

I loved every bit of our two week to Sicily this past June and agree with others that you can get a good feel in six days if you focus on a portion of the island. You can click on my name for the trip report.

Highly recommend that you:

See at least one of the ancient Greek temple sites

Visit both Palermo and Taormina, a study in contrasts

Experience examples of as many civilations/artistic time periods as possible--for me, going back and forth through the centuries on an almost daily basis was part of the wonder of Sicily. You'll have ancient Greek ruins, Roman and Byzantine-style mosaics, Baroque churches and cities, and more, to choose from.

Vagabonda on the trip advisor Sicily forum is an excellent resource as well and a master at suggesting possible itineraries based on your interests.

Bought our tickets and will be doing a whirlwind road trip (perhaps insanity?). We will have seven nights, six full days. We couldn't think of a way to see Sicily without including both Palermo and Siracusa. We are going to pass on Taormina but we definitely want to include Modica--or Ragusa or Noto.

Leely :
We did not use the car in Syracuse. Left it at the Tallete parking place in Ortigia. It is free during the day and cost €1 per night when we were there. We took a train to Noto and came back by bus.
The bus stops almost in front of the Greek and Roman ruins (amphitheater). Saves a lot of time as they are quite a distance from Ortigia.
We did not drive into Palermo. Dropped off the car in Cefalu and took a train into the city. The drive from Syracuse to Cefalu is easy, the road is excellent.

Some car thoughts:
We rented from Autoeurope UK (cheaper than US) and decided to get the insurance that effectively allowed us to walk away from any damage (there may have been a small deductible). Other than a slightly scraped side mirror getting to the Casa Talía, we didn't have any problems, but paying for the peace of mind was worth it to us. I actually thought the drivers in Sicily were quite good. The freeway driving was much easier than in our home territory, Southern California.

We had no car in Sicily. We used buses, and this was very easy. They are good, in time and not expensive.
Bobthenavigator gave you a good idea. Palermo - Cefalu _ Taoramina. From Taoramina we took one day tour to Piaza Armerina and Valley of Temples. For us it was very good, it saved a lot of time.

Hi leely,
We had 6 days in Sicily last October. We chose the east side only - Taormina, Siracusa & Catania. This included a private tour to Mt Etna and a side trip to Noto. We had a car which we took over on the ferry from Reggio Calabria to Messina. Driving was fine, although a car is definitely not necessary in Siracusa, we too left it in the Talete car park for 2 nights. We flew out of Catania.
Cheers, Ozlinz

Thanks for all the help with the itinerary and other info. It's very helpful.

And hi, cyn!

Yes, I had to cut some areas, unfortunately. And even so I've developed a fairly fast-paced itinerary, a road trip really. We are visiting Palermo, then on to Agrigento probably with stops at Selinunte and Segesta, then to Modica and then to Siracusa. The more I've started reading about Sicily, the more places I want to visit. So...next time.

Where are you off to next? I remember you have another Africa trip coming up soon--lucky!

How long will you be in Agrigento? I loved the ruins, but I felt really isolated when I was there because I had no car. I spent 3 somewhat long days there. I enjoyed Palermo; some wonderful museums there.

Yes, Botswana in the summer - trying not to get too excited yet - it's still a ways off.

Hi everybody, it's Alessandro here from Palermo, Sicily.
I've seen this topic here, so I thought to recommend our services, we do organize cycling tours through Sicily, mountain biking in particular.
This is our page http://www.sikaniamtb.com/ and here http://www.sikaniamtb.com/#!six-days-tour/c10e9 there is the page about the "Six Days Tour", a package of adventure and good off-road cycling into the best sicilian trail.
Have a look and let me know your thoughts, thanks

Now that this has popped up again, I'll close the loop: we ended up spending eight days in Sicily. We spent two nights in Palermo, a night in Agrigento, two nights Modica, and three in Ortygia/Siracusa.

We managed to see many sights in Palermo, Monreale, Segesta, Agrigento and Valle dei Templi, Modica, Villa Romana del Casale, and Ortygia. Then we spent five days in Rome.

It was a wonderful, fast-paced trip. I hope to revisit Sicily someday.